“A goblin has a powerful spirit so we had prayed for the chicken so that by the time it (goblin) died, its spirit would move into the chicken and not to anyone. “Gumbo the owner of the house had to hold the chicken so that even the bad spirit which was on him moved to the chicken.”

Prophets attend to one of their own during a cleansing ceremony in Cowdry Park.

Speculation has been rife on why the prophet used bottles of Jameson whiskey.

Siziba explained briefly: “As for the Jameson bottles, it was just a coincidence because all we wanted were empty bottles where we put our prayers. The bottles would explode as a signal for us to go ahead,” he explained.

Prophet Siziba and his crew, which comprised several prophets, did not charge the residents for their services. They, however, will accept gifts.

Unlike other prophets who publicly name and shame goblin owners before cleansing ceremonies, Prophet Siziba said he did not do that as it creates rifts and divisions among residents.

He noted that most people expected to see goblins in a certain form but said these were spirits that could manifest in many different forms. B Metro